Will the new Chilean Constitution be able to dismantle Pinochet’s Labor Plan?

With articles on the right to strike and freedom of association, the proposed Constitution of Chile seeks to enshrine weakened labor rights in the 1980 Pinochet constitution. Consulted by Sputnik, leaders of the two most important trade union centers debated between optimism and skepticism for its fulfillment.

Six articles of the proposed new Constitution of Chile enshrine the right to work through principles such as decent work, the right to strike and freedom of association.

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“Trade unionism was divided and fragmented in the 1980s. It became fragmented because unionization was taken to the company level, then collectivism was lost. We believe that today it is essential to acquire these new rights, especially freedom of association, the the right to strike, collective bargaining and that the head of collective bargaining be the union organization,” David Acuña, president of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) told Sputnik.

It should be noted that during the civic-military dictatorship (1973 – 1990) a new labor regulation was implemented under the name of Labor Plan.

Said plan consisted of the issuance of two decree laws that included four fundamental axes:

• Collective bargaining reduced to each company, without the possibility of coordination between unions from different companies.
• Strikes in which the tasks were not stopped and they considered the replacement of the workers.
• Freedom or union parallelism that gave the possibility of forming several unions with few members to strip them of their unique character.
• Union depoliticization by forcing unions to only concern themselves with their workplace, thus preventing them from becoming agents of social change.

These axes were the basis for the establishment of the Labor Code in 1987 and keys in the implementation of the neoliberal economic system in Chile.

The president of the CUT, the largest union organization in Chile, explained to Sputnik that the proposed new Constitution allows union organizations branch negotiations, that is, of an entire sector and not only within each company.

“It is recovery for us, recovery and progress. It is the recovery of rights lost in the dictatorship, which today can allow us to advance with better and stronger trade unionism. That is where we have to put all our hope and all attention, and we have all our strength on,” Acuña said.

LABOR RIGHTS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSAL

“Everyone has the right to work and their free choice. The State guarantees decent work and its protection. This includes the right to fair working conditions, health, and safety at work, rest, the enjoyment of free time, digital disconnection, the guarantee of indemnity, and full respect for fundamental rights in a work context”, establishes article 48 of the constitutional proposal.

The bill establishes constitutional frameworks for the development and operation of trade unions. Among them, branch negotiation stands out, which allows unions from different companies but from the same production line to carry out a collective negotiation process.

“Workers in the public and private sectors have the right to freedom of association. This includes the right to unionize, to collective bargaining and to strike,” adds the constitutional proposal.

The text also establishes that “the workers, through their union organizations, have the right to participate in the decisions of the company”. The law will regulate the mechanisms by means by which this right will be exercised.

Likewise, domestic work is enshrined in the new Constitution. “The State recognizes that domestic and care work is socially necessary and indispensable jobs for the sustainability of life and the development of society,” says article 49.

BETWEEN OPTIMISM AND SKEPTICISM

Acuña explained to Sputnik that the CUT has been working for several years on a constitutional change that has among its axes the consolidation of freedom of association, which is essential for workers.

“There are different aspects that seem very good to us and that we believe today could generate a great change in the negotiating power of union organizations, especially being able to have a right to strike that goes beyond being cloistered in collective bargaining, but that we can also choose what we can say about,” Acuña said.

But while the CUT is optimistic about the proposal for a new Constitution, the Central General de Trabajadores (CGT) was skeptical of what the conventionalists enshrine in the text.

In a conversation with Sputnik, the president of the CGT, Manuel Ahumada, pointed out that “being objective and with the Constitution in hand, there is no great guarantee of labor rights. There I feel that there is a lot of verbiages and little effective question.”

Ahumada assured that 4.5 million workers would not have the right to bargain collectively or form a union according to the quorum that the legislation established.

“The negotiation may be sectoral. Then, when the laws are passed, who dictates the laws? It is the initiative of the President of the Republic. In this case, the Constitution mandates him between 18 and 24 months. Does the president have the mandate? The president sends a bill and will have to approve it in Parliament. And what kind of parliament do we have today? A Parliament that might want to adjust, reduce,” Ahumada questioned.

However, despite the skepticism shown, Ahumada does not hesitate to point out that the proposed new Constitution is better than the fundamental charter drawn up by the dictatorship.

“Here, more rights are recognized on paper than in the other; how much of it becomes law? That is the problem because it is going to depend on force. It is the social force that moves and will generate change in citizenship. If there is no social organization, there will be no profound laws,” added Ahumada.

THE STRENGTH OF THE WORKERS

Both Acuña and Ahumada agree that the deepening of the process and the guarantees for the workers will depend on the strength and mobilization of the unions.

“More than 80% of the workers are not organized. Therefore, in this hypothetical case of the victory of the Approve, we are going to have a Constitution that has two very interesting elements, but that implies an organized people,” said Ahumada.

The leader of the CGT explained that a group of people qualified to pay equivalent to 3% of the last electoral list, will be able to present a popular initiative of law to make the legislative half with the new Constitution.

“What is the popular initiative of law? Locomotion, snack, per month worked. Bonus for all workers. Compensation for year of service, etc. All those demands that are felt to be platforms of our struggle could be transformed into one or several bills,” he added.

“If we want to nationalize copper, we would have to collect 1.5 million signatures. Whose task is it? Is it one of those who have been involved in politics all their lives? Is it one of the traditional political parties? In our opinion, the task belongs to the people and that duty belongs to the class. In both alternatives, constitutional reform or popular bill, an organized people is required,” concluded Ahumada.

For his part, the leader of the CUT pointed out that “this is a process under construction. Now it obviously has to be approved on September 4. We are hopeful that this will happen, but later comes the legal installation.”

“It is not that Congress is going to decide, but that the issue of unionization must also go in the same spirit of the Constitution. The role of collectivism is fundamental. The role that union organizations have to play is also fundamental,” Acuna finished.

With information from Sputnik